


The Half-Blood Tales

by xxJustBeingMexx



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst, Birthday, Canon, Christmas, Coffee Shop, College, Death, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Genderbending, Halloween, Humor, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:34:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7041028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxJustBeingMexx/pseuds/xxJustBeingMexx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one-shots about our favourite half-bloods and the occasional God/Goddess. Requests for future chapters are welcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Contents

The contents will be updated with each new chapter to show the chapter title and the central characters.

 

**Contents:**

 

 **1)** The Classic Coffee Shop AU - Percy and Annabeth

 **2)** Role Reversal - Will and Nico     

 **3)** Head Counselor - Drew Tanaka

 **4)** A Night In Tartarus - Percy and Annabeth

 **5)** Dead - Gender swapped! Annabeth and Jason

 **6)** Please be my wingman AU - Frank and Hazel

 **7)**  Waiting - Sally Jackson 

 **8)** Asylum AU - Rachel and Reyna

 **9)** Andromeda and Perseus - Gender swapped! Percy and Annabeth

 **10)** Hostage - Leo and Calypso

 **11)** College Chaos AU - Percy and Annabeth


	2. The Classis Coffee Shop AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new series of drabbles for PJO. I know I'm in the middle of exams and I already have a Harry Potter story on the go - but hey, I just got hold of The Kane Chronicles yesterday and I miss Uncle Rick's world.

_** Drabble #1 - The classic coffee shop AU ** _

It was one of those days again. Annabeth Chase sighed as she stared out of the large glass windows, at the streets of New York. The image obscured by beads of rain which ran down the windows. Chiron's Coffee was steadily getting busier and busier, and she was hiding at the back of the store under the pretence of window cleaning to catch her first break since her shift had started four hours ago.

The torrential winter rain was the cause of this sudden influx, as pedestrians came flooding in to escape the downpour. Annabeth didn't understand the public's issue with the rain. Since moving to the city last month for her Mother's business, Annabeth had taken every opportunity to explore and read up on the stunning architecture. She had never seen sky scrapers as impressive as these. She couldn't wait to start college here next year.

"Annabeth!"

She turned to see her co-worker Piper standing behind her, "you've been cleaning the same invisible smudge for five minutes" she said cocking an eyebrow, "Jason and I need help at the counter. I swear the que grows by at least another three people every time I look away!"

Annabeth looked over her shoulder to see that Piper was right. Soon the customers would be queuing out of the door. Many customers were already starting to look unhappy with the current pace of service. She sighed, fixed her ponytail and reluctantly followed Piper back to the counter and took her place taking orders. It wasn't that she hated this job, she was grateful that she had got one within a week of moving - but it was just so boring sometimes - she thanked the Gods for her co-workers who were quickly becoming her closest friends.

"One medium Hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream, to go please" ordered the next customer, a red-headed girl with damp hair which dripped water down her already paint splattered dress. "Rachel", she supplied her name as Annabeth reached for the marker pen.

"Braving the rain then?" Annabeth asked as she scribbled the name onto the cup.

"No, enjoying it" she replied with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who happens to like this weather" Annabeth laughed, "$2.50 please."

"He's paying" Rachel said gesturing to her left and walked off towards the art which hung upon the opposite wall.

Annabeth looked up to see a tall boy in a blue, equally paint splattered hoodie with dark hair and a sheepish smile. "What can I get you?" she asked, staring at his hair which seemed to have a something in it.

"Uh, the same as Rachel please" he said staring back at her.

No - was that. It couldn't be s _eaweed_ in his hair, could it?

"Sure thing, Seaweed brain" she rang up the till, mumbling the second part.

"What?" asked the boy.

Annabeth's eyes snapped up in surprise. Oh Gods, he'd heard her. "I said what's your name" she picked up the pen and silently prayed he would assume he had misheard her.

"Percy" he replied, handing over a $5.00 bill and collecting the two hot chocolates from where Piper deposited them on the counter.

"Thanks wise girl."

Annabeth stared at his retreating figure in shock.

"He's cute" commented Piper, "and he thinks your cute too".

"I don't even know the guy Pipes" she rolled her eyes," besides he's been in here once."

"Nope" Jason shook his head, "this is the third time this week. He usually gets his friend to order."

"Come on. Even Sparky's noticed" Piper poked her arm, "get his number next time."

"No" Annabeth shook her head "it's unprofessional and you're wrong. You just feel bad because I'm always third wheeling" she gave a pointed look at the young couple and walked away to clear some of the newly empty tables.

/

The next day was relatively sunny but just as boring as the last. Sunday's were always slow, giving the girls an abundance of free time. Since it was Jason's day off Piper was spending her time planning the surprise birthday party their group of friends was throwing. Annabeth was texting an old friend from San Francisco when the doorbell chimed. Both girls looked up to see the boy from yesterday heading over towards the counter. Annabeth put her phone away and smoothed down a few flyaway strands of hair. Ignoring the smug look on Pipers face.

"Hey. About yesterday, I had seaweed in my hair."

"I know" replied Annabeth pretending to be busy rearranging the sugar and cinnamon shakers.

"Yeah, that explains the seaweed brain thing, but I thought you were psychic" he blurted, his cheeks tinged pink "I guessed that's how you seemed to know I was Poseidon for Rachel's art project. Sorry."

"No need to apologise" Annabeth laughed, "sorry for not telling you about the seaweed."

"It's fine" Percy grinned, his green eyes fixed on her name tag "Annabeth."

"Don't like each other, huh?" tutted Piper once Percy had left the store, "he came all the way here to apologise and you fussed over your hair the moment he walked through that door."

"He's kind of cute" Annabeth muttered, "but that doesn't mean anything."

/

And it continued not the mean anything the next week end and the next. Piper, Jason, Rachel and whoever else was there often looked on at the pairs interactions with a mix of amusement and bafflement.

It took another four weeks for that to change.

"No girlfriend today?" asked Annabeth four Sunday's later, sipping her mocha next to Percy who was leaning against the counter as usual with his hot chocolate.

"Girlfriend?" Percy repeated confused.

"Rachel" Annabeth replied raising an eyebrow.

"Oh-you thought-no" he shook his head " Rachel's not my girlfriend. You know you're actually kind of dense for a wise girl."

"I am?" Annabeth's eyes widened in surprise.

Percy ran a hand through his hair, messing up the wild mop more than usual, "I never really came here that often until you started working here" he admitted keeping his eyes fixed on his hands, "it took three weeks for me to order my own drink from you and another six for me to ask you out."

"But you haven't-oh" Annabeth very nearly dropped her mocha. Percy chanced a glance up to gauge her reaction.

"On one condition" Annabeth replied pulling herself together.

"What?" asked Percy, a small, hopeful smile tugging at his lips.

"We don't go out for coffee" Annabeth grinned pulling of her apron, "It's the end of my shift. Where to seaweed brain?"


	3. Role Reversal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably get a beta at some point but for now, just tell me if you spot any errors and I will correct them. 
> 
> Thank you for reading :)

**Role Reversal**

Nico was sat in one of the infirmary's spare chairs waiting for Will. Today he had been needed for shadow travel and Will was out with a group of half-bloods to sort a particularly nasty sounding Empousai problem at a high school 40 miles away from camp. They hadn't seen each other all day and Nico was hoping to find his boyfriend before dinner so that they could eat together.

BANG! The door flew open, Percy and Jason stumbled through carrying a boy between them. The trio were covered in scrapes and bruises, blood stains were everywhere but tributaries of crimson still ran down the shirts of the two conscious boys. Droplets fell from the third, unconscious boy who was hidden from view.

"What happened?" demanded Kayla pointing them towards the empty bed beside the med cupboard. The boys put the boy down carefully.

"I don't know" Jason wrung his hands, "One minute he was fine, the- the next this Empousai took full form. We were all paralysed. One pounced on him and we-we couldn't do anything!" he said in distress.

Nico felt the blood drain from his face, surely that wasn't Will. He must have gone to dinner. Right?

"Percy" Nico could hear the strain in his voice, "where's Will?"

"Nico?" Percy's eyes snapped up, widening as he saw the pale boy sat in the corner, "Annabeth went to find you, I'm sorry. He-he passed out just before we crossed the camp border."

The room spun. Nico felt nauseous. No-not his Will, the kind, careful, doctor who healed everybody else. No. He stood up shakily and stumbled forward trying to ignore the trail of blood from the door to the bed. Trying in vain to block out the cascade of dark images of Will battered, bruised and dying which floated through his mind. He feared the sight which would greet him.

"How bad" he whispered pausing behind Kayla who was rummaging through the cupboard. The sight of his boyfriend was blocked by the open door.

Kayla turned to Nico, closing the door, "bad."

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. It was like something out of his worst nightmare. Will lay completely still on the bed, the crisp white sheets were quickly turning redder and redder with each passing second, The blond boy's breathing was shallow. His face grey and covered in a sheen of sweat. A large gash ran from his left ear to his jaw. But his torso was by far the worst. Bold, bloody, oozing lacerations from what must have been a claw or whip had ripped his shirt to shreds. The material tangled with flesh and was soaked scarlet so that it was almost impossible to distinguish between flesh and fabric.

Nico gripped the side of the bed, his knuckles turning white. Kayla gently cleaned the wounded area with a cloth and hot water. With all of the excess and dried blood gone the damage was clear, there was definitely going to be some scarring. It was then that Nico noticed Kayla was trying to hold back tears, he realised that he wasn't the only one suffering for Will. She was his sister, part of his cabin and medic team.

"Can I help?" he asked tentatively.

Kayla nodded and handed him the nectar, "take his hand" she said biting her lip as she showed Nico the dressing prep. On the tray was a tube of anti-septic cream and a needle and thread on top of the gauze, bandages and tape. Nice forgot to breathe for a second, this was going to be very painful for Will who was starting to regain consciousness. Kayla hadn't given him a sedative, he was still to weak.

Nico shuffled closer to his head, leaning over his boyfriend carefully so that he would not put even the smallest bit of pressure on his sore body. With the nectar in one hand and the other holding himself up, he leaned in.

"Will?" he murmured "Will, are you awake?"

The son of Apollo groaned in response, his eyelids fluttered.

"You need some nectar, I'm going to put a little on your lips. Just-just try your best to swallow it. Okay?"

Nico put a little in his parted lips, moving to hold his head up slightly so that he could swallow it with more ease.

"Now" Kayla muttered. Nico took his hand, Wills fingers curled lightly over his.

"Will, this is going to hurt but I need to make sure there's no infection" Kayla said squeezing the cream out onto her fingertips.

He cried out in pain as soon as the ointment touched the torn skin of his chest. Nico let Will curl his fingers around his so tightly that it was almost painful, he could hardly register his own pain through Will's anguished screams.

When he looked up he saw that Kayla was already stitching the lacerations together, as carefully and quickly as possible.

It took ten minutes for Will to grow quieter and for his breathing to even out. His hand still clutched Nico's.

Kayla was tending to another camper who had tripped and sprained their ankle when he finally spoke.

"Nico" he rasped. Immediately Nico lifted his glass of water to Will's lips.

"Yes" he replied after his boyfriend had drank a satisfactory amount.

"Thank you" he said softly with a small smile.

"For what?" Nico shrugged with a smile, "You've taken care of me so many times, it's time I returned the favour. But thank Kayla, Percy and Jason, I wouldn't have been able to help without them."

Will nodded, his free hand tracing his bandaged torso.

"Just promise me something" Nico said.

"What?"

"That you'll never be the patient again. Doctor's orders."


	4. Head Counselor

** Head Counselor **

Sighing, Drew Tanaka glared up at the sky. Being head counselor was a lot harder than she had thought it would be, but really it was Silena Beauregard's fault. That girl had made the situation within Aphrodite's cabin even worse with her 'universal love' crap. And what had she done about it? She went and got herself killed in the name of love.

Pathetic.

This was why Drew had to walk to the edge of the strawberry fields, and climb this goddam tree almost every evening. She had to get away from it all and breathe. The upside to it was that nobody would ever think to look for her here. Just because she couldn't wield a dagger; in camp half-blood that apparently made you incapable of climbing a tree - and just about everything else. Fighting skills was what appeared to determine your worth in this place, she thought bitterly.

Children of Aphrodite had never truly been respected, Drew didn't know how Silena fooled herself into thinking she could change that. Her policy of universal love ruined the cabin. While she was busy getting chummy with Beckendorf, the cabin rapidly lost it's ruthless reputation. The only useful reputation it had was replaced with hearts and sappiness. It made Drew want to vomit.

Drew knew all to well that you couldn't force people into real loyalty and love, but you could scare them into submission. That was close enough. For children of Aphrodite that was as good as it was going to get.

Contrary to popular belief her mother is not a simpleton. Aphrodite has a power over humans, animals, half-bloods and Gods alike. Love and Lust after all are primary and primal motivations. Charm and persuasion have the power to achieve anything. The combination is deadly. But nobody seems to realise that other than Drew.

Why else would she break so many hearts? Insist on the initiation for all of her brother's and sister's? To give them power. She had to earn her charmspeak and learn the art of intimidation through harsh lessons. Drew knew that unlike everyone else she had the guts to step-up and become the enemy in order to win respect through fear. A fear that would spread to show the other campers not to mess with Aphrodite's children. That they would get their hearts smashed to smithereens and Aphrodite and her children would just laugh. Humiliating the next sucker who thought they were the exception.

Drew could understand lust but not love. Love made you vulnerable, made you weak, illogical and helpless. Made you a laughing stock. It had ruined the cabins reputation and the lack of conventional talents made them targets for jokes - all at their expense.

She hopped down from the low tree branch and began to pick her way back through the strawberry fields, she needed to get back in time for the meeting at tonight's campfire. Whatever fight was coming, her whole cabin would boycott. Her charm speak would make sure of it. However it was doubtful that it would even be needed. Her cabin would likely be laughed out of the meeting long before tasks and battle positions were delegated.

Silena was wrong. Things would never be solved through love. You can't meet hate with love and expect to win. Drew was smarter than that and she wouldn't let her cabin lay down their lives for these ungrateful campers. They got their pride from fighting, she got her's from surviving.

Everyone else can go to hell.


	5. Another Night In Tartarus

**Just another night in Tartarus**

Annabeth burrowed further into the warm bed, but it did nothing to ward off the chill her nightmares had left with her. She could feel the cold seeping into her bones and filling her veins with ice. This was always the worst one, the vision of Percy's cursed body laying bruised and broken on the ground. One moment where she had thought he was gone. This was the nightmare that still left her numb.

She slowly turned to face her boyfriend who was sleeping peacefully. His slow breaths accompanied by the steady rise and fall of his chest. A reminder that things were alright, he was alright. That they weren't sleeping on hard ground, covered in blisters, throats burned by fire. No, they were in a soft bed in the Argo II.

She disentangled herself from Percy. Slowly sliding out of the covers as quietly as possible in the silent darkness to avoid waking him. Once free she made sure to tuck the covers in to stop the chill getting to him as well, before creeping out to the deck, leaving the door ajar.

Outside it was even colder, the ocean breeze hit the flapping sails and the stars glistened in the clear night sky. Another reminder that she was alive. Surrounded by the best of nature. Not the worst of it.

Being back from Tartarus was more than she could have wished for, but that didn't make things easier. On their second night back on board they had curry for dinner and that had given her a panic attack, forcing them to tell the others about how they had to drink from the river Phlegethon to survive. After that, all of the food was plain and Hazel had stopped Frank from making tomato soup at lunch today.

Annabeth couldn't stop feeling ashamed about the way her friends tiptoed around them, never asking for details even though they clearly wanted to know. One part of her wanted somebody to sit her down and force her to them everything but there were parts of that experience she would never speak about, that Percy wouldn't bring up. He wasn't in much better shape, he jumped at every noise. Once he had even thrown them both to the ground - his body protecting hers -when Leo accidently blew up something he was working on. He still hadn't lost those life saving reactions. Tonight was the longest he had slept without an inevitable pesky nightmare interrupting.

Annabeth knew her problem was different. Her problem was the guilt for what her great hamartia had caused; it was her hubris which led her to be arrogant about defeating Arachne, even in that state of inexplicable fear, she had overseen her stupid mistake. One that would have cost her life if Percy wasn't so blindly loyal and self-sacrificing. She knew that he didn't blame her. Even if they had died he wouldn't have regretted his decision for a single second. But that did not resolve her own guilt. There was no question about how she would have survived without him; she simply wouldn't have. However, at the back of her mind she knew that it worked both ways, and that she would have and always will follow him anywhere.

Taking a deep breath she noticed that her hands had stopped shaking, and the cold sweat had vanished, replaced by goose bumps from the cold air. Annabeth padded back to Percy's room and slipped back into bed. Almost immediately his arms tightened around her.

"It's not your fault" he whispered half-asleep, his warm breath on her shoulder.

Turning her head she saw that he had already fallen asleep again. With a small smile she closed her eyes, but no matter how much she tried she couldn't sleep peacefully.

It was just another night in Tartarus.


	6. Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genderbent Annabeth & Jason, f!Percy dies and m!Annabeth is comforted (seduced) by f!Jason, requested by ObeliskX

** Dead **

Andrew Chase fell to the ground. No, there had to be a mistake. Penelope wasn't dead. Not his beautiful, crazy, Penelope Jackson who danced in the rain, sipped blueberry smoothies and loved 80's music. Not the girl who made everybody smile, the daughter of Poseidon was all about love and adventure. Impulsive in her desire to experience everything and reckless with her wild love of people. Not reckless with her life.

She had promised him that she would come home.

"Andrew?" a soft voice called.

He open his eyes, Jasmine Grace was knelt next to him on the cabin floor. She nodded at the rest of their friends who left, casting hesitant and concerned glances back at him until the door clicked shut.

They were alone.

His girlfriend was dead, he was crying and she liked him. She had told him as much a few months ago when they had thought that they were going to die on a quest.

Now he may as well be dead too.

Jasmine placed a delicate hand on his arm, "It's okay to cry" she whispered moving closer to him, "you loved her and a part of you always will."

Andrew stayed quiet. Only the sound of his ragged breaths could be heard. Nothing was okay anymore.

She sighed and wiped the tears from his cheeks with her thumb.

"Love" he choked, "It's not past tense."

"Greif is only natural" she continued as if he had not spoken "you'll be sad for a while and then you have to move on. Penelope wouldn't want you to sit and wallow."

Her long blonde hair tickled his arms and the scent of her floral perfume was overwhelming.

Penelope had always smelled like fruit.

Jasmine took his hand, it felt soft and warm, just like Penelope's hands always had. Andrew studied the girl in front of him. She was about the same height and build as his girlfriend. Her hair was only a few inches longer. The real differences lay in their faces and colouring. Penelope was a tanned, black haired beauty, not fair and pale like Jasmine. Without all of that damn floral perfume, he could almost pretend that she was Penelope, if he closed his eyes.

"You'll be alright," she whispered. Her breath was warm and her lips brushed his left ear.

He leaned into her embrace.

"I can make you feel better."

It was wrong. He knew it, no doubts about it. But he was never going to see his girlfriend again. Never hear her laugh, feel her touch, see her smile.

Couldn't he just pretend, just for a little while, he thought as he leaned closer.

His hand slipped into hers, her body shifted closer to his, their lips moulded together.

_Forgive me, Penelope._

Jasmine kissed away the silent tears that ran rivers down his cheeks.

He imagined that his fingers were tangled in silky raven locks, that he would see emerald eyes if he peeked.

He imagined that she was still here.

_I love you._

_Come back._


	7. Please be my wingman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt used -"pls be my wingman just for like 2 minutes I can't do this alone stop laughing."
> 
> I can't remember where I got that prompt from, it was just saved in my notes so credit to whoever created it.

_**Please be my Wingman ** _

"Just talk to her" Percy laughed, downing his drink.

"Easy for you to say" Frank complained, "you have a girlfriend." He gestured to his friends arm which was wrapped around Annabeth who smirked into her drink.

"Come on dude, we're at a bar. What else would she be expecting you to do?" Leo goaded, "borrow a book? analyse a painting?"

Frank glanced over again at the beauty sat alone over at the bar. Her brown hair was shining in the light and her simple, purple dress clung to her body, accentuating her figure. It had all started twenty minutes ago, when he - the big clumsy oaf that he was - had walked right into her outside of the bathrooms. He had knocked her into the wall and he had apologised profusely, of course. But then he made the mistake of looking up. The minute that he caught sight of her face and her amazing golden eyes, he was a goner. Stumbling over his words and bright red in the face he had lumbered back to his table. His friends had witnessed the whole fiasco and Leo, actually managed to spit out his drink through his nostrils, he was laughing that hard. The next twenty minute of teasing had been pure hell.

Frank knew that he wasn't like his friends. Percy had girls falling at his feet everywhere he went, and he had Annabeth, the female version of him - only she was scarier when she was mad. Leo may not have the same looks as Percy but his confidence more than made up for that. But Frank Zhang was huge, shy and awkward. He would never get the girl, so why try?

"Just have a conversation" Annabeth interrupted his mental humiliation, offering him a kind smile "don't worry about flirting."

"Don't listen to her" Leo grinned, "you need to get her number."

"She won't give out her number to a stranger at a bar" Frank protested.

"She will if she thinks you're cute" Annabeth argued.

"I changed my mind, listen to her" Leo pointed at Annabeth.

"You should always listen to me" Annabeth rolled her eyes, "haven't you learnt that I'm always right?"

"It's true" Percy agreed, "tragically."

Annabeth hit him lightly on the arm, "rude."

He just laughed.

"Frank" Leo said with a dangerous smile.

Oh no.

"I dare you to get that girls number-"

"No"

"Nuh uh, not finished yet" he tutted, "If you refuse then I'll get the Stoll brothers to help me prank you" he said, "publically."

"Guys!" Frank protested glancing at his remaining friends in a panic.

Percy and Annabeth suddenly found the wall to his left extremely interesting.

"Fine" he conceded, "If you agree to be my wingman."

"Nope" Leo responded popping the 'p'.

"Come on! This was your idea" Frank could feel his palms beginning to sweat already, his glass was starting to slip out of his grip.

Leo just shook his head and pointed to the girl.

Frank took a deep, shuddering breath, placed his glass down and took a step away from the table. Ok, he thought. Approximately twelve steps to go. You can do this, Zhang.

He took another step.

And another.

The girl turned. Her eyes caught his for a second before they slid over to the window.

He took three steps back. Fast.

"I can't do this!"

His friends howled with laughter.

"Seriously. I think I'm having a heart attack"

No response, he didn't think they could hear him over their raucous, attention drawing, peals of laughter.

"Please Leo" he tugged on his friends sleeve, "Please be my wingman, just for two minutes. I can't do this alone" he whined, "STOP LAUGHING!"

Sobering up, his friends finally saw his desperation.

"Fine" Leo threw his hands up "I'll do it."

"Thank Gods" he muttered with a sigh of relief.

Leo got up and started to stride over to the bar, turning he saw that Frank wasn't following. Rolling his eyes in exasperation he grabbed onto his arm and hauled him over to the girl, who thankfully, still had her back to them.

"Go on" Leo whispered giving him a final shove.

"Uh, hi" he said.

The girl in question turned, her gold eyes stared up at him.

She was even prettier than he remembered.

"Hi" she smiled.

Even her smile was perfect.

Leo elbowed him in the ribs.

"I, uh. I just wanted to apologise again. For um, earlier I mean."

"That's okay. I wasn't watching where I was I going" she was blushed, "I do that a lot."

"Oh" he smiled, "same."

"I'm Hazel" she held out her hand, "Hazel Levesque."

He took it, "Frank Zhang, and this is my friend Leo." Frank turned to see an empty space next to him.

Traitor.

"Was my friend Leo. Apparently he just ditched me" muttered Frank.

Hazel laughed and patted the vacant barstool next to her, "Looks like you'll have to put up with my company in the meantime."

And 'put up' with her company was exactly what he did. An hour had passed before she got a call from her brother and had to leave, she left Frank with a kiss on the cheek, a phone number and a promise to meet for coffee tomorrow afternoon.

Needless to say, it was Frank who teased Leo the next time they visited a bar.


	8. Waiting

**_Waiting_ **

Contrary to popular belief, her son leaving wasn't the worst part.

It was the waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Every ringtone and knock at the door could bring the news that Percy's dead. She knows it's hard for him to contact her, and when he manages to she's grateful. That short moment of relief is pure bliss - her baby is okay, alive, breathing - and then she comes crashing down to reality. Because nowhere is truly safe for demigod, especially a child of the big three.

She loves him more than anything, but the boy had always been a trouble magnet. Really, it was miracle he'd survived this long.

It wasn't so bad at first, with Gabe around she was always busy. Cleaning this, fetching that; she barely had a moment to herself. Besides, Percy was better off in Camp Half Blood than under the same roof as Gabe. Back then the danger was there but it was no where near as deadly as the more recent threats. Percy and his friends wouldn't tell her much but she could sense the burdens on their young shoulders. As the death count at camp increased, so did Percy's stress and her own underlying panic.

They were all just kids, demi gods or not. They were kids on the battle ground, kids laying down their lives. Worst of all, she could only sit at home and wait.

Paul, bless him, worried about Percy as well. They sat together by the phone and she called him the minute she received word. Without him to keep her sane, she didn't know how she would cope. Percy certainly seemed more comfortable leaving each summer since Paul had moved in, not that he thought she'd noticed. Sally Jackson could take care of herself, but she wouldn't deny that it was much easier with someone to lean on for support.

Talking of support, Annabeth Chase was a gift from the Gods as far as she was concerned. The amount of times that girl had saved her sons life was astonishing. They needed each other to survive. It's not just nightmares about losing Percy that keep her up at night, no. She also dreams of Percy losing Annabeth. That's different kind of hell for her. Seeing her son lose the one he loves and seeing his safety net, his protection, his heart ripped away.

A sharp ring rips through the silent night. Sally is up in an instant, diving for the telephone.

"Percy?"

"It's Annabeth."

But her voice is all wrong, breathy and hitched. Like she's crying. Not the clear and confident tone Sally's familiar with hearing.

"Annabeth are you-"

"Percy's missing."

Suddenly Sally's on the ground, her knees are red with carpet burn but she's numb.

"I will find him. I will." She registers the words Annabeth's choking out between sobs down the phone. The poor girl must have been speaking for a while, she wasn't sobbing so hard a minute ago.

"I know" Sally whispers, and she does. Percy would kill himself trying to get back to her and Annabeth would work herself to death trying to find him.

And all she can do is wait.

So she waits. She waits on the line with Annabeth all night, she waits for the daily updates Annabeth sends from camp, she waits for every scrap of information this Jason boy has.

She will wait until she hears his voice cracking down the phone.

She will wait until her son comes home.


	9. Asylum AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much longer than usual but it's an idea that's been in my head for a while now. I am not claiming that it is a true representation of a psychiatric hospital as I have never been a patient/worked in one. In all honesty I'm going off Movie/Tv portrayals so it most likely is not very accurate. I hope you enjoy it!

**Asylum AU **

**1 **

"NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" screamed the auburn haired girl as she kicked out at the nurses, "HE'S IN DANGER, WE ALL ARE! LET ME FIND HIM!"

Reyna watched the patient struggle against the handcuffs with mild interest. Although Miss Dare was a regular here, she either forgot that they would sedate her if she continued to violently lash out, or she didn't care. It hadn't been a shock when the police hauled her through the doors. After two releases and four escapes, every patient and staff member alike knew that they hadn't seen the last of her.

Only Miss Dare herself seemed to be oblivious of this fact. The saying was that " insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different a result." Reyna could vouch for that after working in the Asylum for six months.

Finally one of the nurses had the sense to sedate the poor girl. After they disappeared round the corner, Reyna turned back to her report on her own patient. Mr Jason Grace. He would be out in less than a week if he continued to heal. Patients like him always found solace in others with similar mental scars. Friendships were essential to healing. Unfortunately patients like Miss Dare drove others away. Even the inmates found her to crazy to cope with.

She filed her report and read the clock. With a sigh she headed down to the kitchen. She was on late lunch today for her tardiness in arriving this morning. Her boss Hera, hadn't listened to her explanation and doled out the discipline. How was it her own fault that her train was delayed? She'd been in a bad mood all day after that. Late lunch and an extra hour tonight, unpaid of course, to make up for the time she had missed. Reyna headed down to the kitchen to pick up the third floor lunch trolley. She manoeuvred it carefully into the elevator and through each set of security doors. She let herself into the secure floor and made her way to each room, delivering the correct meals and medication. She spent the next half hour patrolling the corridor, she glanced trough the window of each door to check each patient ate. Noting down any who didn't and what they were leaving. She stacked the empty plates and prepared to leave for her own lunch, before noticing that one patient hadn't touched their food.

She rapped on the door, "Miss Dare? You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry" the stubborn girl called back, with her arms folded and her eyes glaring at the two red pills on her tray.

"At least the medication." Reyna opened the door and let herself into the room.

The girl didn't look up, "I'm not taking them."

"Why not?" Reyna needed her to take them, not only was she starving, but this girl needed them, "Have some water, nibble at your sandwiches. You'll feel better."

At this her glare moved to fix upon Reyna, "why? because you've crushed the pills into my food? Dissolved something in my drink?"

Reyna quirked an eyebrow, "we did that last time because you were getting worse. You attacked your psychiatrist and you were a danger to yourself."

"I wasn't trying to kill myself. There was someone waiting to meet me on the roof."

"So you've said. I promise you that your food and water is not medicated. I can't leave you until you eat a decent amount."

"Then you eat it first, swallow it and prove to me I can trust you" she argued, pushing the tray forwards.

"Fine" she replied, slightly pleased at the brief look of surprise which had taken over the girls resentful demeanour. True to her word, she sat down cross legged opposite the patient and ate a spoonful of mash potato, a spoonful of peas and a large gulp of water. "Do you need me to test the carrots as well?" she inquired.

"No." Miss Dare cleared the plate and drank her water, but left her medication untouched.

"Miss Dare-"

"Rachel."

"Rachel, if you don't take your meds we will have no choice but to medicate your food."

"I don't need them."

"Yes, you do."

"I won't take them willingly."

"Your choice" Reyna muttered standing up, her stomach growled. She strode towards the door and was about to open it when Rachel spoke.

"I'm sorry for keeping you from your lunch."

"It's okay" Reyna smiled, before leaving the room and locking the door behind her.

* * *

**2**

The next time Reyna encountered Rachel was two weeks later, when she burst in on her weekly meeting with Mr Grace.

They had been talking through how he was coping with life outside of the hospital when the door had flown open with a bang.

"JASON" Rachel had come barrelling in, "Thalia needs you to return to school."

Jason had frozen in shock, "who are you? How do you know who I am? Who my sister was?"

"My name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. You need to return to Piper and Leo. Go on the school trip. Camp needs you."

"Rachel" Reyna stood slowly.

"Thalia. How do you know about her?" he demanded, rising from the chair.

"Jason" Reyna warned.

"She came to me in a dream, surrounded by wolves."

Reyna faltered, how had she known about the wolves who had brought Jason back to civilisation after he was abandoned in the woods as a small child. How had she known the name of the sister he only vaguely remembered. She must have broken into the filing room, she escapes from her ward enough, Reyna resolved.

She had pressed the help buzzer, calmed Jason down and watched the strange girl get dragged away screaming about a prophecy.

* * *

**3**

The third time was when she covered art therapy.

The session had been fine until she had spotted Rachel, who had abandoned her canvas in favour of painting the large cream wall.

"Rachel? What on earth are you doing?" but Rachel seemed not to hear her and her paintbrush flew across the surface. She had painted a forest. Lush greens and murky brown with a tribal dwelling of some sort in a clearing. In the centre was a dark haired girl. A girl who looked alarmingly like Reyna's sister...her sister who had been travelling through south America for the last six months.

Next to that was a warrior woman flanked by two large dogs. One silver and one gold. A banner was wrapped around them, the words in Latin. Next was two young dark haired girls held captive by pirates on an island.

Reyna took a sharp breath in. Nobody knew. The news stations were banned from ever releasing the names of the girls on the island when it was overtaken by

modern day pirates. She hadn't told anyone about her sister, and beneath the final painting of a purple flag was her name.

_Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano._

"Rachel" she whispered.

The girl turned but her eyes were cloudy and distant.

And then she collapsed.

That same afternoon, while Rachel Dare was still unconscious; Jason arrived.

He brought Hylla.

They told her about Bellona, Rome and Camp. They told her Rachel was an Oracle. They told stories which couldn't be real.

They made her read Latin, a language which she had never learnt.

A week later she was convinced. Hylla had left for the Amazon and Jason was still feigning visits her patient. He warned her of Hera and the memories she had stolen.

* * *

**4 **

The fourth time she visited Rachel she went up to her room, it was 10pm. She had taken the nightshift and the hospital was understaffed.

"You're not crazy. Follow me, we're meeting Jason and Thalia outside in five minutes.

* * *

**5**

The fifth time she saw Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi was attending Reyna's praetor ceremony. Eyeing up Reyna's dogs with a smug smile.

* * *

**LATER **

After that they lost track of the number of times they saw each other. A year after Gaia was defeated, Rachel accompanied Reyna on a quest around the world rescue demi-gods from asylums. The doctor and patient double act knew exactly how to fool the system and escape with a bewildered and rather relived child of impossible myths.


	10. Andromeda and Perseus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was requested by ObeliskX. I'm sorry that it's so late with no explanation. My school workload has been really heavy now that I've started my A-levels and have all essay based subjects with lots of reading and and outside work. I also suffered from a bit of writers block and a lack of inspiration if i'm being honest. I've tried to finish three different chapters, and this is the only one that turned out okay. I was going to wait until I had written more before I posted it, so that my once a week update schedule could be restored. But I have kept you all waiting for long enough, so I'm posting today with the warning that updates will be sporadic for an unknown length of time. I will try my best but I have two ongoing multi-chapter fics which I have to prioritise.
> 
> Sorry. I really do appreciate every single review. Having the freedom to write about anything with this story is so nice,and I seriously enjoy all of the fantastic ideas that you come up with.
> 
> On a lighter note, there is an odd sort of bird in my neighbours garden that won't cease making the most annoying half-pant, half-cough noise with a slight quack...or maybe it's their dog? It's a very strange noise anyway.

**_Andromeda and Perseus _ **

Andrew Chase really loved his girlfriend.

That fact was incontestable. He never was able to deny her anything, especially once she blinked those beautiful green orbs and pouted. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn to the Gods, that Penelope Jackson _created_ the puppy face. Why else would he be chained to the rock beside the lake in the woods, preying that none of the other campers stumbled across the scene, and rid him of the remaining shreds of his masculinity.

Andrew sighed as Penelope placed the plastic tiara on his head. He tried to school his face into an amused expression as she stepped back to admire her handy work with a grin.

Man, he _really_ loved his girlfriend.

Penelope straightend her armour - which he had to admit, she looked incredibly hot in - and stood at the edge of the lake and called, "we're ready!"

Wait, what?

"Who exactly are we ready for, seaweed brain?" he asked carefully.

"Dad's seamonster" she replied nonchalently, sitting down at the edge of the lake, using her index finger to draw hearts in the sand.

"Posiedon's monster?" his eyes widened, "as in Cetus. Great shark-like thing the size of a whale?"

"Yup" she nodded.

"You're not seriously planning on following the story exactly" he clarfied, not liking the higher pitch that his voice had involuntarily taken on.

"Oh, no" she looked up at him innocently, "If I was, you would be naked."

He swore under his breath.

But in the same moment, a single ripple rolled over the surface of the water. Immediately followed by several more until a rumbling reveraberated through the ground, and out from the water rose a genuinley terrifying beast. Which said a lot, considering how many hideous mythological creatures Andrew had seen in his lifetime, and he had seen Arachne.

"Cetus!" Penelope cried, waving at the monster. "Now, remember what I told you to do. And do not, under any circumstances, eat my boyfriend. Do you understand?"

Andrew gulped nervously. Somehow the flap of the beasts fins (if you could even call them that), in acknowledgment of the ground rules had failed to reassure him.

"Penelope, are you sure about this?" he asked one more time in desperation.

"Don't worry about it, Wise boy. Act scared so that I can rescue you" she chided gently and brandished her sword experimentally.

He didn't think that acting scared would be the issue, and this was confirmed the next moment when she picked up his yankees cap and placed it on top of her dark hair, disapearing from sight. He had forgotton that his invisibility cap was there, and Penelope had covieniantly forgotten to inform him about this part of the game, like her omission of the seamonster. The very same seamonster that was currently looking at him like he was dinner.

Suddenly, the monster attacked. Shooting it's two-hundred ton, slimy body straight at him. He instinctively tried to free his arms, but the chains held them tightly bound to the sides of the rock. He cursed before hearing the clang of a sword breaking the right side of the chains. He pulled his right arm free. Then, the monster reared back with a roar. It's tail hit out at whatever had caused it to lose it's concentration. With a splash, Penelope tumbled into view, his Yankees cap flew off of her head and landed on the embankment.

"Circe, maybe this wasn't such a good idea afterall" she said, eyeing her sword which glinted in the late afternoon sunlight...five feet away, under a very unhappy, ginormous fish.

"No, maybe not" Andrew squeaked, "a little help, please" he rattled the chain still holding his left arm hostage. Penelope snapped into action, uncapping riptide and sprinting towards the bad-tempered fish.

No, not towards it! Run towards me! He thought with a groan.

He observed his girlfriend enagaged in a fearsome battle with the sharp toothed thing. It was a good ten minutes before it gave up and sunk back down into the mysterious and murky depths of the lake, and his exhausted, water-logged yet still enthusiatic girlfriend managed to wade back over to him.

"Sorry" she smiled breathlessly, "that took longer than I expected" and proceeded to remove the remaining chain. "That was quite fun, want to do it again?"

"Never" Andrew grinned, knowing full well that he would cave in and agree the next time she asked him to do something utterley ridiculous.

"You had fun really" she smirked, settling into his lap, her arms snaking up his arms.

Andrew raised an eyebrow, fighting the urge to smile.

She simply raised one herself in response and soon the two were participating in a staring competiton. He was unflinchingly staring into her eyes when he felt a prod at his side, which he ignored. However, it soon became increasingly impossible to ignore the tingling of his skin where her fingers ghosted over. Before he could fully register what she was doing, she tickled his sides. Her hands moved all over him; continuing her tickle assault in all possible locations while she avoided his flailing limbs and laughed delightedly at his reaction.

They slid from the rock and collapsed into a panting, tangled heap on the ground and rolled over until they lay side by side on the shore, watching the sunset.

"Next time, promise me there will be no real seamonster."

"I promise."

And really, the joke was on him because she had promised no sea monsters. He had said nothing about hell-hounds or gorgons...


	11. Hostage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really isn't my best work but I wanted to post something after reading 'The Dark Prophecy' so be warned that there are SPOILERS if you haven’t read it yet!

 

 Leo Valdez was an idiot.

It was an opinion that Calypso voiced daily. Mostly to his face. So, why was she still surprised by his idiocy? They had been together for a while now and throughout their adventures, she had witnessed these moments of absurdity frequently.

But thumping a murderous Roman Emperor over the head with an oversized carrot, really had to be near the top of the list. Especially, when the recently risen from the dead Emperor, had tried to kill them on multiple occasions.

Okay, maybe she had needed help fighting off the two Germani even before Commodus had cornered her. But in her defence, Festus' severed foot made an excellent club. Not to mention, it was ten times more effective as a weapon than a vegetable.

Which was how Leo had ended up in the arms of one of Commodus' brutes with a crossbow pressed to his temple.

And he had still thought that it was a good idea to make provocative statements; until one of the henchmen was ordered to shoot him if he opened his mouth again.

Even now that the nightmare was over, the replay of the battle's final moments still made her cringe. Calypso buried her face into her pillow and screamed. She was sore and tired and _so done_ with these near-death experiences. Burrowing further into the blankets to try to expel the cold chill which lingered in her bones, she felt another wave of nausea.

He had almost died.

The sickening realisation was a stab in heart, because she had been powerless to save him. Her boyfriend who had dived headfirst into danger armed with a carrot. Knowing full well that she was no longer a goddess. Knowing full well that those villains wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Knowing full well that she would be forced to watch him die.

Her newfound mortality would mean nothing without him.

Eyelids drooping, she gave in to the sweet temptation of sleep.

**xxxx**

The dream itself was fuzzy but she remembers the Emperors snarl and her buckling knees as the glinting dagger was driven into Leo's abdomen, she can vividly recall the last traces of a smile leaving his lips as he gasped for breath. Most of all she remembers bolting upright in bed, awakened by the heavy bedroom door being thrown open, hitting the wall. Vaguely aware that someone was screaming as she collapsed back against her pillow.

"Are you alright?" Emmie's concerned face swam into her vision, "Calypso?"

She blinked dazedly, his name came tumbling from her lips as little more than a whisper “Leo?"

"Cal?" his voice floated around the edge of her consciousness. Shivering, she looked up.

A cold hand pressed against her forehead. "She's burning up" muttered Emmie "I'll be back in a second."

"mmm" she groaned, feeling the bed dip as somebody perched on the edge by her hip. Followed by another hand laid gently on her forehead, a warmer one.

"Hey, _mamacita_." It was his voice again, louder this time.

"Am I dreaming?" Her eyes flickered open.

"No.

"You died" she whispered sadly.

"Woah" he grabbed her hands which lay limply by her sides, "No, no. _Mi sol_ , Apollo toasted them with his awesome Godly light. We survived!"

"I saw it, you died!" Her voice strained as she forced the words out of her sandpaper throat, "Commodus, he-"

"Cal, listen to me" he begged, "you were dreaming. You have a fever and Emmie's getting some medicine to make it better. Okay?"

"Go away" she rasped ripping her hands out of his grasp, but tugged weakly at the hem of his 'TEAM LEO' shirt until his arms folded around her, and she began to sob into his chest as he stroked her back. Despite his calm ministrations, she could feel his heart pounding.

His heart pounding!?

"It was a dream" she breathed. Squeezing her eyes shut and choking down the remaining tears, but feeling better after her embarrassing display of catharsis. Calypso dried her eyes and pushed back the loose cinnamon tresses that framed her face, "promise me that you won't die."

"Nah, I won't die" he smirked running a hand through her hair, "we still haven’t opened our garage. Auto Repairs and Mechanical Monsters are a lucrative business, y'know."He could see her eyelids drooping again and feel her breaths evening out again, much to his relief.

"I love you, idiot" she mumbled, "death wish or not."

"I know" he smiled. Looking up as the room flooded with light, revealing Emmie in the doorway with a bottle of medicine in one hand and a damp cloth in the other. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded. Tiptoeing into the room only far enough to place the items next to Leo.

"I think it would be best for you to stay here tonight to stabilise her temperature" she whispered with a wink. Closing the door softly behind her before he could reply.

Shaking his head with a smile, he got to work fixing her temperature. Giving his half-asleep girlfriend a dose of strawberry scented medicine before she was lost completely to the land of dreams, hopefully a much more pleasant trip than before, he thought as he disentangled their bodies and tucked her back into bed with the damp cloth on her forehead a light kiss pressed to her temple.

"I'm sorry" he whispered into the darkness, "I love you too, Calypso and I don't ever want to leave you. In death or otherwise, so I guess you're stuck with this hot mess extraordinaire forever."


	12. College Chaos AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - 'This is the first time I'm living on my own and my parents decided to spontaneously drop by in a few hours to see how I'm doing. Please let me borrow some cleaning supplies and food so that my parents will believe I'm a functioning, responsible adult who totally cleans and doesn't just have condiments and eggs in my fridge AU'

**College Chaos, AU**

"Percy, your Mom said she'll be here in an hour!"

"What!?" Percy shrieked, embarrassed by the high-pitched note in his voice. He hadn't hit a note that high since he started puberty.

"Uh-yeah" Grover called through bathroom the door, "she just called to remind you. I thought you were showering _because_ of her visit, dude."

Percy cursed as the shampoo suds ran into his eyes and he blindly grappled for the faucet to shut the water off. He dried quickly and threw on his clothes, cursing again as he caught sight of a chilli stain on his T-shirt. He chucked it in the empty wash basket and bulldozed through the dorm in search of a clean shirt.

"Here" Grover passed him a clean, plain blue shirt. "You really should clean up around here."

" _Me?_ It's your mess too, buddy."

"And it's _your_ Mom that's visiting, guppy" he retorted "besides, I have class in" he checked his watch, "six minutes. Good luck, Perce." Grover waved as he swung on his satchel and waltzed out of the door. Leaving Percy stood in the middle of a shamefully typical college boys dorm.

Takeaway containers littered the seating area and dirty clothes were strewn across the room, burying textbooks and stacks of half-finished assignments. The blinds had broken last week and were hanging precariously in the window, which was covered by a spare bedsheet to keep out the sunshine. The dim light only made the pig sty of a room worse. Leads from the TV to various gaming consoles snaked across the floor, hidden in the mess and blending in with the darkness; a trip hazard that would certainly cause his mom to freak out. The bin was overflowing with paper and packaging; and the kitchen counters were spotted with food stains and crumbs. A lone bag of cheetos had been left on the side, and suddenly, Percy had a nasty premonition that they were the only edible thing left in the cupboards.

With a deep breath, he began to investigate the kitchen, but the cupboards were almost bare and the fridge was in no better state. With a sigh, he rounded up his findings:

\- _One bag of half-eaten cheetos_

_\- Tomato ketchup_

_\- Barbecue sauce_

_\- Three slices of bread_

_\- A jar of pickles_

_\- Out of date biscuits_

\- _A single, mouldy grape_

Mournfully, Percy threw out the biscuits and grape, and took out the trash. Then he stood in the middle of the chaos, overwhelmed, and unsure where to begin. The window, he thought. Mom can deal with mess but she'll freak if the blinds fall on my head.

Dutifully, he took down the bedsheet and salvaged what he could from the blinds, vowing to ask his Mom to buy some new ones. The clock read 11:25, he had forty-five minutes left and no food in the house. The nearest store was closed for refurbishment and the supermarket was a fifteen-minute walk through town, down the same road his Mom would take to get to the college.

There was nothing left to do but beg.

He tried Jason first, but his door remained closed and the room quiet. Next, he went to Rachel's room forgetting that she was at an art exhibition today. In desperation, Percy turned to the Stoll brothers who owed him a favour but they were out too. He collapsed in the stairwell, dejected and just about to give up when he caught sight of the pretty blonde girl from floor above waiting for the elevator.

He couldn't...he shouldn't...but he desperate. Which is how Perseus Jackson found himself approaching the stranger with his best puppy dog eyes and pout.

"Hey, I'm Percy, I live on the floor below you and I know that we don't really know each other but could I ask you a massive favour."

Her piercing blue eyes scanned him for a second, and then she nodded, "depends on what you need."

"This is my first time living on my own and my Mom decided to drop by spontaneously to see how I'm doing, and I-uh-need to borrow some cleaning supplies and groceries so that she will believe that I'm a functioning, responsible adult who totally cleans and doesn't just have condiments and mouldy grapes in the fridge."

She raised an eyebrow, "wow, you really are in a pickle."

"Coincidently, that's all I have in the cupboard."

"Follow me" she rolled her eyes at his sheepish smile and beckoned him to follow her into the elevator and then into her dorm. A light and airy, organised space full of drawings and books. He watched her grab a few bottles and cleaning cloths from her clean kitchen and place them in a cardboard box which she handed to him. Then, she filled two bags with basic groceries and locked up. Looking at him expectantly to lead the way back down to his own room.

"Thanks for this, really. I owe you a huge favour, but are you sure that you want to come in?" he warned her as he unlocked the door.

"I'm sure that I've seen worse. My roommate Thalia is a hoarder, and I've managed to limit her to her own room" she laughed, "besides, I'm a stress cleaner. Perhaps I can help."

"My mom will be here in about thirty minutes. Is that enough pressure?" Percy swung open the door and braced himself for her reaction.

The blonde girl strolled in without flinching. If he hadn't seen her nose wrinkle slightly, he would've thought that she was blind.

"Right. You pick up everything on the floor and sort it" she dictated, handing him a trash bag. "And I'll deal with the kitchen. Then, we'll see if the bathroom needs sorting."

"What about my bedroom? "Percy asked, rubbing his neck.

"Leave it. Your mom will know something's up if this whole place is spotless."

Twenty minutes later, the floor was clear, clean and pedestrian friendly once more. The windows were open to let in fresh air and the kitchen was scrubbed and stocked with the necessities. Even the bathroom had a quick tidy. His saviour was just making coffee for them both when there was a knock at the door.

Percy shot up from the couch and paused to take a calming breath before opening the door.

"Percy!" Sally pulled her son into a hug, dropping a kiss onto his cheek.

"Hey, mom" his cheeks reddened, he could feel her eyes on him, watching the affectionate exchange. "Come in."

"Oh honey, you cleaned" she beamed looking around. "I was so worried that I would be walking into a- oh, hello. I didn't see you. Percy, you didn't introduce your friend" she reprimanded lightly.

"Mom, this is-" his mind went blank. Gods, he hadn't asked her for her name!

"Annabeth Chase" she said smoothly, "I apologise for the intrusion but I'm out of coffee and Percy kindly offered to help. Would you like some, Mrs Jackson?"

"Call me Sally, dear" she nodded, "I would love some, thank you." She moved over to help Annabeth in the kitchen, oblivious to her son's sigh of relief. "I don't think Percy's mentioned you before. How long have you been friends?"

"Not long. My roommate Thalia is Jason's cousin and we all live in the same building, so we've seen each other around quite a lot" she explained, smirking subtly as Percy's mouth fell open in shock.

"What a coincidence" Sally laughed, "so I can expect to see you around a lot?"

Annabeth nodded, "In fact, I forgot to tell Percy that he's invited to a study group in the library tomorrow morning at ten. "

"Ah, how wonderful. He always needs motivation to study. I must say, Percy, you're doing better than I thought. Paul said you would be living on takeaways and gaming consoles in the dark" his mom admitted sheepishly.

"Percy's doing just fine, Sally" Annabeth pushed off the counter and picked up her mug, "but there are a few basics that I want to go over with him tomorrow. It was lovely to meet you, and I'll see you later Percy" she waved, returning presumably to her own dorm with one of his mugs.

"She's lovely" Sally smiled.

"Yeah, she really is something" he replied drily, unable to hide the small smile that tugged at his lips. He had a feeling that Jason was about to start visiting his cousin a lot more, taking his charming friend so that Annabeth wouldn't feel left-out.

Yes, Percy thought as his mom launched into a story about Paul and the neighbour's dog. He liked that idea very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the best thing I've written, but it's been so long since my last update that I wanted to post something. And I know that Thalia isn't Jason's cousin but I thought it would be more plausible for Percy not to know about his friend's cousin then prompt is from tumblr and I thought of Percabeth the moment I saw it ;)


End file.
